Lord we pray "Help me to continually increase parish vitality and reflect the presence of Christ in the world."

Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Bishop reports unprecedented number of converts in Estonia (National Catholic Register)

The sole bishop in Estonia, where only 0.8% of people are Catholic, discussed a small but unprecedented rise in conversions this year.

Bishop Philippe Jourdan received 48 adults into the Church at Easter; 33 of them were unbaptized.

“We had never had so many,” Bishop Jourdan told the National Catholic Register. “Previously, catechumens were often in the 30-to-40 age bracket. Now, they are much more often in their 20s.”

New Chaldean Patriarch enthroned; vows to preserve Church's liturgical traditions (Syriac Press)

Paul III Nona, who was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church last month, was enthroned in Baghdad on May 29.

Syriac Press reported that the new Patriarch outlined six priorities, including unity in the Church, the spiritual life, and “authentic identity”: “preserving liturgical traditions, the Syriac-Aramaic language, customs, and Eastern Christian spiritual philosophy.”

Outgoing US religious freedom commissioner highlights worsening global crisis (EWTN News)

The departing chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom told EWTN News that the “situation for religious freedom in the world today is worse than it was when I came on the commission [in 2022], and certainly worse than it was a decade ago.”

Stephen Schneck lamented the worsening situation in India and China, the world’s two most populous nations.

Schneck said that India “is among the worst countries in the global community in regards to religious freedom from the analysis that has been done by the commission over the last decade or so.”

The plight of religious believers in China “gets worse and worse,” he added, and “itʼs not just limited to individuals. Weʼre talking about whole populations here—the Uyghur Muslims, the Tibetan Buddhists, Christians.”

Magnificent Humanity

audio

Rerum Novarum

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Catholicism Makes Unexpected Inroads in Secular Estonia

interview

Swiss Bishops Back Ban on LGBT Conversion Measures, Cite ‘Spiritual Abuse’ Risk

cna

Wyszyński, Paul VI and the Polish Millennium

commentary